Moving as a family across Maine, Mary Jane Gervais and her family were looking for work from Houlton down through Biddeford, eventually setting in Lewiston at the age of 12. She had started working at the Bates mill at the age of 16, and has been working on-and-off at...
Dot McAtee works for the Maine Heritage Weavers today after working for Bates Mill for about 20 years. Dot worked first in the shoe industry at the age of 16 working part-time with her mother who worked making heels. Starting in 78′, she worked at the Bates Mill...
Aime Foisy shares his background in the military, having served in World War Two as an engineer and being captured as a Prisoner-of-War. Aurore was born in Canada as one of 14 children, working in the mills in Lewiston. Both share their history together, and all the...
Rita Morin worked in the shoe department. She discusses her childhood with 8 siblings and her transition to working in a shoe factory. She also describes the jobs in the mills that her family had and the community in her department.
Nicole worked in the textile mills, mainly in the fringe department. She discusses how she balanced being a mother with working and her various jobs in Lewiston. She also discusses the generational differences in her family and her experiences in Lewiston.
